'He's a special talent': Kim's skill knows no bounds ... literally

SAN DIEGO -- Ha-Seong Kim’s eyes were on the baseball. The Padres’ shortstop didn’t see the diminishing space between himself, the wall and the wire that anchors the safety net in front of the third-base stands.

In one terrifying moment, all things converged -- Kim, the baseball, the wall and the wire.

“I thought half his body was going to be cut off the way he hit that wall,” manager Bob Melvin said.

In the sixth inning of the Padres’ 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon in the series finale against the Nationals at Petco Park, Kim did his best Derek Jeter impression by flinging himself toward the ball to haul in a foul popup by Alex Call. The ball came down just where the netting tapers down to the wall. As the shortstop reached for the ball, he hit the padding and the top of the net and he was knocked off balance.

Kim fell to the warning-track dirt hard, and third baseman Manny Machado quickly ran to check on him. Kim, however, had a more immediate concern. He rolled over and showed the ball was still in his glove, good for the out.

Kim was on the ground for a few more moments before gathering himself and staying in the game, none the worse for wear.

“It was right in my ab area, but I have a six-pack,” Kim said, via an interpreter. “So it was OK, no problem.”

Kim wasn’t the only one to react to the scary moment with humor. Machado, first on the scene, had a word with his teammate.

“Don’t ever come to my territory,” Machado said, according to Kim.

Machado has two Gold Glove Awards, so he certainly can stake a claim to some real estate. The thing is, Kim might be Gold Glove caliber, too. With Fernando Tatis Jr. missing the season because of a left wrist fracture and then a PED suspension, Kim has turned shortstop from a Padres question mark to a position of consistency.

Kim entered Sunday with 7 Outs Above Average, seventh among MLB shortstops. His 7 defensive runs saved are tied for sixth. And the bat has come around -- .252 batting average, .704 OPS, reasonable numbers from a glove-first position.

“That guy plays hard, man, he really does,” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez. “I like the way he plays the game. And when you see him doing stuff like that, I think that picked everybody up for them.”

Indeed it did. Momentum turned, and the Padres came away with a four-game series split against Washington. They also improved their position in the National League Wild Card picture, moving a half-game ahead of the Phillies for the second spot.

San Diego trailed by a run when Kim hit the wall. Left fielder Jurickson Profar helped keep it that way when he threw out Joey Meneses on the very next play. Meneses was trying to stretch a single, but Profar got the ball into second base quickly for his 10th outfield assist, matching Milwaukee’s Hunter Renfroe for the NL lead.

That one-run deficit became a one-run advantage, 2-1, in the bottom of the sixth when Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, his second as a Padre and his second in two days against the team that traded him earlier this month.

Sean Manaea, on the hook for a loss after allowing Nelson Cruz’s 440-foot solo homer in the fourth inning, suddenly was in line for a win. He got it by going seven innings with no more damage, his best outing since June 8. With Josh Hader taking a breather from closer duty, Nick Martinez pitched a clean ninth for the save.

“Defense wins games,” Bell said. “Watching these guys go out and compete their tails off, day in and day out, is something special to watch.”

Bell was across the infield when Kim hit the wall, and his immediate thought was akin to Melvin’s.

“Unbelievable,” Bell said. “First of all, I was terrified. I didn’t think he caught it. Then five, six seconds later, he holds up the ball. Unreal to watch. He’s a special talent to play with.”